The benefits of firewood saving stoves
Mirriam Kwambana 47 lives in Mutasa district with her family. Like many rural families she used an open fire for her daily cooking activities. The process was both time consuming and had negative effects on her and her family’s respiratory health. After learning the benefits of firewood saving stoves from the Farmers’ Clubs Sustainable Lifestyle and Education program she decided to construct one for her home and has cut down her meal preparation time while using less firewood.
“Before having this firewood saving stove, I used to walk long distances to look for firewood and then endure hours of breathing smoke from the open fire which results in persistent coughing.
Mirriam is one of the 1000 Farmers’ clubs members who were part of the 10-Year Framework of Programmes on Sustainable Consumption and Production (10YFP) which aims to accelerate the shift towards sustainable consumption and production in both developed and developing countries.
Through this program Mirriam and many in her community are actively taking steps to turn the tide on global warming through construction of firewood saving stoves and planting more trees in their communities.
These small steps have had positive environmental impacts such as reducing the number and frequency of trees being cut down for cooking purposes. Because the firewood saving stoves use less wood and emit less smoke this reduces the amount of greenhouse gases released in the air
